Electromechanical interlock



Aug. 20, 1929. J. z. WINDER ELECTROMECHANI CAI, TNTERLOCK Filed Sept. 19, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheetl Qnuemtoz:

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2 Sheets-Sheet .1. Z. WINDER Filed Sept. 19, 192 7 ELEGTROMECHANICAL INTERLOCK 4 H Tfi I l l I u I ll Aug. 20, 1929.

Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH Z. WINDER, F RICHMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR T0 RICHMOND FIRE-PROOF DOOR COMPANY, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

ELECTROMECHANICAL INTERLOCK.

. Application filed September 19, 1927. Serial No. 220,335.

The object of my present invention, broadly speaking, is to provide an electro-mechanical interlock intended, especially, to be employed in connection with counter balanced or vertically telescoping elevator doors, the

same being comparatively simple in character strong and durable in construction, positive in its actions and its results, automatic in operation, with its several movements gravitationally actuated, and which can be manufactured, sold and installed at a comparatively low price.

More specifically stated: My object is the provision of an electro mechanical interlock mechanism which will meet the most exacting requirements of underwriters, and the most rigid laws of all States and foreign countries for the control of fire hazards, and at the same time meeting the approval and the endorsement of architects and builders.

However the main object of this invention, is to provide means, in combination with vertically movable doors, whereby no door of an elevator-shaft, where my invention is employed can be opened except when the floor of the eievator which is operative in the elevator shaft where my invention is employed, is on a level, or nearly so, with a particular floor ofthe building in which the elevatorcar operates; and when said door is opened,

or released,- then it will be impossible for the elevator-car to be operated until such time as the door is closed and locked.

And, finally, my object is to provide an electro-mechanical interlock mechanism to be employed in connection with elevators, which will operate automatically and gravitationally without the employment of springs, or other instrumentalities, and wherein the 40 chances of error will be infinitesimal and practically nil and all without the necessity of the mechanism being delicate or precise.

Other minor objects and particular advantage of my invention will be brought out in the course of the following specification, and that which is new will be correlated in the appendedclaims.

One manner of carrying out the principles of my invention in a practical and economically eflicient manner is shown in the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of certain parts, particularly showing the interior mechanism of the interlock-case in unlatched position, and

showing the latch-bar mechanism in unlocked position. Figure 2 shows in elevation the mechanism in the interlock case, the same as inFig. 1, except that the parts thereof are shown in locked position, that is in the positions they would assume when the door is view of my construction in detailed arrangement. Figure 6 is a cross section, as taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5. And Figure 7 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5, taken at right-angles to that as shown in Fig. 5.

Similar indices denote like parts throughout the several views.

In order that the construction, the operation, and the several advantages of my invention may be more fully understood and appreciated, I will now take up a detailed description thereof in which I will set forth the same as fully and as comprehensively as I may. a

Referring now to the drawings in detail: Letter A denotes the wall of a building and it forms one side of an elevator shaft B, in which is adapted to operate the elevator-car C, having a floor C. In this instance three floors or floor levels areshown, as the floors D, D and D. I

Door openings E, E and E" are formed through the wall A, and they open onto the respective floor levels above mentioned, and each of said door openings is adapted to be closed by a counterbalanced,gvertically operating, double or single, or telescoping door F, F and F, for the respective door openings.

In this instance each of said doors is shown as in two parts, upper and'lower members, but I am not to be limitedthereto. I

Each of said doors is'provided with a latchbar 40, which extends to the right from the central portion of its door, as in Fig. 1, however a double latch-bar may be employed, in which case a second latch-bar 40f is provided and it is identical with the latch-bar 40, but it extends in the opposite direction with relation thereto. Both latch-bars should operate at the same time and are controlled by a single lever H, pivoted at I, and each of said bars is pivoted at I and I respectively, whereby the operation of the lever H will actuate said bars synchronously but in directions opposite to each other. Said bars 40 and 40 are normally'and resiliently forced to the right and left, respectively, by means of the spring G, which spring is attached at one end to one of said latch-bars and at its other end to the door on which the latch is located.

The mechanism shown at the right in Fig. 1 maybe duplicated at the left, with the bar 40 connected with it in the same manner.

The elevator-car C is suspended in the shaft B by means of a cable R having its .upper portion operative around the usual .drum (not shown), which drum is revolved by an electric motor (not shown).

Secured to the face of the wall A, near the door openings, is a vertically extending angle-iron J. Secured thereto but spaced from the wall A, is a smaller angle-iron K. Both of said angle-irons, J and K, extend from the bottom to the top of the shaft B, or nearly so.

Each of said doors, or door members, has an angle-iron L covering its contact corner, as in Fig. 6. And attached to the angle-bar L, at the edge of each door, is an angle-iron M; and a smaller angle-iron N is attached to the angle-iron M, with its projecting portion parallel with but spaced from the projecting portion of the angle-iron M, as shown in Fig. 6. The projecting portion of the angleiron K is located between the projecting portion of the angle-irons M and N, whereby the doors are guided up and down and are prevented from swinging laterally. Letter P denotes a cam carried by the elevator.

No claim is made to the parts herein designated by letters of reference, as they are merely shown to make clear the operation and the advantages of my invention with relation thereto, and said parts maybe various- 1y changed to meet various conditions.

My invention resides in the parts herein designated by numerals and comprises a malleable-iron box or case 1, in which certain of the mechanism is inclosed. Said case has a detachable cover or lid 2, whereby ac cess may be obtained to the interior thereof. Said box and lid are to be lined with mica, or its equivalent, particularly at points close to live electrical parts which may be located in said case, whereby the case will be impervious to electricity and preventing damage to the case and its contents.

v Secured to the inside of the case 1, and at one side thereof, is a contact-base 3, which is formed of bakelite or its equivalent, and forming an insulator to electric current. Secured to the'base 3 are two, spaced apart,

binding-posts 4 and 5, from which extend the respective wires 7 and 8, which extend upward through the top of the case 1, and

they are for the purpose hereinafter explained.

Attached to each of said posts is a spring contact-tongue, 9 and 10 respectively, which extend substantially parallel with each other into the central part of the case 1. Each of said tongues has a knob, 18 and 19, respectively, secured on its under side, and they are for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

Numeral 11 denotes an angular contact lever, which 1s pivoted at its upper left corner, that is at the uncture of the two portions which are at right angles to each other, by means of the screw 12.

The upper right-hand extending portion of the lever 11 is thickened and made comparatively heavy to form the weight portion 18, which is to the right of the pivot-screw 12. The main portion of said lever 11 extends downward andis formed.tapering,.and it terminates in a point near the bottom of the case 1. dog 14 extends outward and clownward at an angle from the outer (left) edge of the lever 11, and it is inte ral therewith. A slot 15 is formed through the left-hand edge of the case 1 through which said dog may project, and by reason of which the lefthand edge of the lever 11 may contact with the lefthand side of the case 1. And said slot 15 extends down to near the bottom of the box 1 thereby forming an opening through which may enter the outer end of the latchbar 40.

Secured to the inner or right-hand edge of the lever 11 is a base 16, formed of bakelite or its equivalent, to which is secured the central portion of the contact plate 17, which terminates at its ends in slightlv curved prongs which are parallel with each other and are at right-angles to the central portion of said plate, and said prongs are spaced apart substantially equal with the tongues 9 and 10, with which they are adapted to engage, forming sliding contact therewith, or with the knobs 18 and 19, in making or breaking electric circuit therethrough.

Extending across, laterally, through the lower portion of the interior of the case 1 is ashaft 20, which is rotatably mounted in the two side edges of the case. Secured on the shaft 20 and extending upward therefrom is the locking lever 21, which has a dog 22 integral with the upper portion thereof and which extends outward at right-angles thereto, and said dog is adapted to fit in between the left edge of the case 1 and the left the upper end portion of the upper arm member 24 is a roller 25, which is for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

Extending downward from the underside of the case 1, and from the left-hand edge thereof, is a bevel contact face, or cam, 26, with which the beveled end of the latch-bar 40 is adapted to engage to slide said bar to the left and to guide it into the slot 15. At this point it should be explained that the arm 23-24 extends upward and forward at an angle, as in Fig. 7, whereby when there is nothing in contact with the roller 25 said arm will swing forward to its limit, which would be with the end of the dog 22 in contact with the back of the lever 11, as in the position in which it is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, or if the lever 11 be moved to the right as in Fig. 2, then said dog 22 would move in between the lever 11 and the left edge of the box 1, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, which is the position it occupies in Fig. 2. The suspension of the lever 11, by means of the screw pivot 12, together with the weight 13, will manifestly cause the lever 11 to swing by gravity to the left whenever it is released. Secured to the elevator C is the cam P, which is adapted to engage the roller 25, as the elevator moves up and down.

The wires 7 and. S extend, in any well known manner, to the motor which operates the elevator, and the electric current for operating said motor forms a circuit through said wires, whereby if the current be broken, that is if the wires 7 and 8 be not electrically connected, as they are in 1, then the motor will not operate, and therefore the elevator can not be moved up or down until the circuit is completed, as shown in Figure 2.

One of said interlock cases. 1, with its mechanism therein as shown, is located above each floor. Each of said cases 1 is positioned by forming a notch therefor in the combined outwardly extending members of the angleirons K and J. The cases 1 are secured by attaching the member 26 to said angle-irons by means of the bolts 28 and 29; and by means of the bolt 30 passing through the car 31, which ear is integral with the case 1.

Operation-Now, if one of my interlock mechanisms shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 be located in substantially the center, vertically, of each of the door openings, as indicated in Fig. 4, and all of the doors be closed and locked whereby the interlock mechanisms will be as in Fig. 2, then the wires 7 and 8 of all the interlock mechanisms will be connected into the power circuit whereby the elevator C may be moved up and down as desired, but at this time all of the doors will be closed and locked. Then if the elevator be moved, for instance, to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4, the cam P at that time contacting with the roller 25, of the lower interlock mechanism, will have moved the arm 2324 to the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 thereby turning the shaft 20 and the lever 21 and causing the dog 22 to be moved back, to the position in which it is shown in dotted linesin Fig. 3, whereby the latch-bar 40 may be moved to the left, removing it from the case 1, and allowing that door to be opened, up or down. However the movement of the bar 40 to the left will cause the lever 11 to turn, mechanically to the left thereby withdrawing the prongs of the plate 17 from contact with the tongues 9 and 10, thereby breaking the electric power circuit and preventing the elevator from being operated until the latch 40 is shoved back into the interlock case 1, which of course will reestablish the power circuit and permit the elevator to be moved as before,

Then as the elevator moves up or down the cam P will be taken away, permitting the arm 2324 to gravitate outward from the door. thereby causing the dog 22 to move back into locking position. as shown in full lines in 3. Then as the elevator moves up ward, for instance, it is evident that when the floor C of the elevator comes even with the floor D then the said operation may be repeated with relation to the door F. However if the elevator does not stop at the floor D it may move on up to the floorD where the same operations may be repeated as before.

To be a little more specific and clear, it should be explained that as the door closes, the latch which is of the double-thrust type, normally extended to locking position and, by reason of the spring G, slides up the incline 26 and snaps, through the slot 15, into the position shown in Fig. 2. As the latch 40 reaches the position to enter the slot 15 the dog 14 will engage in the notch m, which is formed in the upper edge of the end portion of the latch-bar 40, thereby forcing the lever 11 to the-right and causing the electric connection to complete the power circuit at that point and thereby permitting the elevator to function up or down as desired.

In order that the roller 25 may have the proper contact with the cam P, the arm formed by the members 2334 are made adjustable, by means of the bolt 32, whereby one may adjust the same that the dog 22 may have the proper movements into and out of the path of the lever 11. WVhen said adjustment is properly made it will be apparent that as the elevator comes to rest at a floor level, the cam P engaging the roller 25 will force the lever 23-24 toward the door, thereby removing the dog 22 from the path of the lever 11 and enabling one to operate the door latch at that door opening. As he does so it pulls the lever 11 from contact position and mechanically breaks the power circuit, so that the elevator can not be operated until the door is closed and the latch-bar is shoved back into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2.

From the above it is apparent that none of the doors can be operated except when the floor of the elevator is substantially level with a floor of the building; and that the elevator can not be operated when any one of the doors of the building is open or partly so, thereby accomplishing the main desideratum of this invention in a practical and mechanically efficient manner.

It is to be understood that simply by the omission of the shaft 20, the locking lever 21 and its dog 22, the arm 2324l, and the roller 25, thereby dispensing with the mechanical cross locking means, that the invention will be capable of functioning purely as an electric interlock on doors not accessible from the room side thereof.

I desire that it be understood that various changes may be made in the several details herein set forth without departing from the spirit of the invention and without sacrificing any of the advantages thereof which are new and useful.

Having now fully shown and described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. An electric mechanical interlock mechanism comprising a gravity control lever pivotedly suspended, a dog carried by said lever, a pair of relatively stationary current conducting fingers spaced apart, a current conducting plate carried by said control lever and adapted to electrically connect said fingers when the control lever is turned in one direction and to break the current therethrough when the control lever is turned in the opposite direction, current conducting means extending from said fingers, a latchbar adapted to engage with said control lever and adapted to be prevented from movement when said lever is turned to electrically connect said fingers and to be released when said fingers are electrically disconnected, a movable dog adapted to lock said control lever in position to electrically connect said fingers, and a movable cam adapted to move said last mentioned dog into unlocking position but permitting it to move to locking position when said cam is removed.

2. An electro-mechanical interlock comprising a box-like case having a slot in one edge thereof, a gravity lever pivoted at its upper end and suspended in said case, a dog 7 integral with one edge of said lever and adapted to project out through said slot, an insulator attached to said lever, a plate attached to said insulator and having prongs extending therefrom, a second insulator secured inside of the case, posts secured to said second insulator, a tongue extending from each post and adapted to contact with the re spective prongs of said plate, a wire attached to each of the posts forming a power circuit through said prongs and plate when the two prongs are connected with the respective fingers and whereby said circuit may be broken when said lever is moved to project said dog through said slot, a shaft extending across the inside of said case and projecting at one end therethrough, a locking lever secured on said shaft, a dog extending from said locking lever and adapted to prevent the gravity lever from turning to project said first dog through said slot in the case, an arm attached to the projecting outer end of said shaft, a roller carried by the upper end of said arm, and a relatively movable cam adapted to engage said roller to release said locking lever, all substantially as shown.and described.

3. An interlocking mechanism for vertically sliding elevator doors comprising a gravity contact lever pivotedly suspended, an

electric circuit for operating an elevator,

means whereby the movement of said lever in one direction will break said circuit and when moved in the other direction will complete said circuit, means carried by said lever for securing a latch-bar when said lever is in position to complete said circuit, automatic means for locking said lever when the circuit is completed, and automatic means for breaking said circuit as the latch-bar is being removed from its locked position, all substantially as set forth.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto'subscribed my name.

JOSEPH Z. lVINDER. 

